Issue 572 (23 August 2010)

Welcome to BioNews by email, the free weekly news digest of the top stories in assisted conception, genetics, embryo/stem cell research and related areas, published by the Progress Educational Trust. Sent to registered subscribers each week, BioNews by email is aimed at informing debate in these areas by providing balanced and timely summaries of the week's news and developments alongside comment, reviews and recommendations of selected topical conferences, events and more. It also contains job advertisements from the relevant sectors.

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Should doctors harvest eggs from a comatose woman?

22 August 2010 - by Dr Anna Smajdor

A novel dilemma has arisen recently, recalling past debates over the removal of sperm from dead or dying men. However, the current case is a first, in that that it involves eggs, rather than sperm. Ultimately, the request was denied, but not necessarily for the right reasons...[Read More]

Wither the HFEA and the fate of donor registers?

23 August 2010 - by Professor Eric Blyth, Dr Marilyn Crawshaw, Dr Lucy Frith, Dr Caroline Jones and Dr Jennifer Speirs

The UK government's review of Arm's Length Bodies (ALB) in the National Health Service has indicated that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has had its day as a free-standing regulatory body...[Read More]

IVF funding cut in Warrington

23 August 2010 - by Gozde Zorlu

Funding of IVF treatment has been suspended by Warrington Primary Care Trust (PCT) following a review to assess whether the service matched agreed health priorities and offered the best value for money. Warrington is the only PCT in the North West, of which there are 24, to cut the funding of IVF, reports say...[Read More]

Genetic link to Tuberculosis prognosis

23 August 2010 - by Victoria Kay

Researchers have come one step closer to being able to predict who will develop full-blown symptoms following infection with the tuberculosis (TB) bacterium...[Read More]

FDA mounts legal challenge to stop treatment at US stem cell clinic

23 August 2010 - by Nishat Hyder

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has demanded a federal injunction from the US District Court of the District of Columbia to stop Regenerative Sciences (a Colorado based stem cell clinic) from using patients' own stem cells as medicinal treatment...[Read More]

Involuntary childlessness has a significant impact, study shows

23 August 2010 - by Harriet Vickers

Involuntary childlessness may have a bigger negative impact on peoples' lives than previously thought. A researcher studying couples who unsuccessfully underwent IVF treatment say these people had a lower quality of life than couples with children...[Read More]

Parkinson's disease study finds genetic links

23 August 2010 - by Dr Lux Fatimathas

Genetic defects in the immune system may be associated with Parkinson's disease, according to a recent study published in Nature Genetics. The genome wide association study (GWAS) is the first to link mutations in a gene in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, which is known to be involved in immunity, to Parkinson's...[Read More]

Prox1 gene linked to memory

23 August 2010 - by Sophie Pryor

A gene called Prox1 has a crucial role in an area of the brain involved in creating new memories, US scientists have discovered. The researchers focused on a region of the brain called the dentate gyrus, a small structure which is important for learning, memory and spatial navigation...[Read More]

Red blood cells made from IVF embryos

23 August 2010 - by Chris Chatterton

Scottish researchers have taken a major step towards the 'holy grail' of haematology - the ability to produce a limitless supply of artificial blood cells. The team successfully produced significant amounts of red blood cells from stem cells harvested from spare IVF embryos...[Read More]

Stem cell hope for spinal injury

23 August 2010 - by Kyrillos Georgiadis

Japanese researchers have overcome a major obstacle to treating severe spinal cord injuries using stem cells taken from the brain...[Read More]

Book Review: Bioequity

19 August 2010 - by Antony Blackburn-Starza

In 2008 Exeter County Court put an end to claims brought by six men who on being diagnosed with cancer decided to store their sperm for potential future insemination before undergoing chemotherapy treatment should the effects of the treatment permanently impair their fertility...[Read More]